Interarm blood pressure differences and 2-year mortality in acute coronary syndrome patients

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Interarm blood pressure difference (IABPD) was associated with increased cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in various cohorts previously. In this study, we planned to explore the association between the IABPD obtained with simultaneous measurements in both arms and the risk of mortality over a 2-year follow-up of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS: Simultaneous blood pressure (BP) measurements were performed during initial admission in patients with ACS. Systolic ≥10 mmHg and diastolic ≥5 mmHg absolute IABPD was defined as cutoff values in this study. The relationship of IABPD and all-cause mortality was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox analysis. RESULTS: A total of 532 patients with ACS were included in the study. Mean age of the study participants was 60.1 ± 12.6. Patients included in the study were followed for 23.2 ± 7.2 months (median 25.3, min: 0, max: 28.7 months). Survival was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves. Patients with systolic IABPD ≥ 10 mmHg and systolic IABPD < 10 mmHg had an average survival time of 25.94 ± 0.84 and 25.92 ± 0.38 months (P = 0.925), respectively. Survival times of diastolic IABPD ≥5 mmHg and diastolic IABPD <5 mmHg were 26.44 ± 0.62 and 25.71 ± 0.41 (P = 0.251) months, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In the current study, we did not find a significant association between IABPD and all-cause mortality in patients with ACS in 2-years follow-up. Future studies may be required for further evaluation of the prognostic importance of IABPD in patients with ACS.